Yeah I was never a big fan of that. I think they should not have given Kirk’s solution because to me it sounds lame. Perhaps they should have left it at he cheated.
[geeky trekie] Books aren’t cannon. I refuse to believe the events in that book they never happened [/geeky trekie]
vivalostwages–there are lots of test you can take over and over again until you pass. The CPA exams, the bar exam, medical boards, etc. The point of retaking until you pass is to show that you learned something.
Ultimately, though, the beginning of ST2 was similar to the teaser of the TNG episode “Cause and Effect”, i.e. let’s blow up the ship real good and freak out the audience before they’ve had a chance to settle in. It’s done more for dramatic effect than to make some philisophical point, and it works because I was freaked out.
It’s by far my favourite Trek movie.
I meant the command tests but failed to specify.
I was thinking more of situations like…being put on academic probation if you can’t cut it in college, that sort of thing where they actually expect you to get it together or get out.